Regardless of what a company does, or how successful it may be, some brand names just sound better than others. Performers classify themselves as brands, and the same thing applies. Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta works better as Lady Gaga and so does Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr., as Snoop Dogg. Better brand names can certainly contribute to a company’s success. Let’s have a Brad’s Drink and look at a few auspicious transformations.
Caleb Bradham invented this fizzy drink in his North Carolina drugstore. He used part of his surname and dubbed it, Brad’s Drink. The drink was a lot better than the name. About five years after introducing it Bradham decided that his drink helped with dyspepsia, also known as indigestion. Take part of dyspepsia, add Cola, and you’ve got Pepsi-Cola.
In 1911, the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company, CTR, was founded when the Tabulating Machine Company, the International Time Recording Company, and the Computing Scale Company all merged. CTR changed its name to International Business Machines in 1924, better known today as IBM.
You’ve probably never laced up a pair of athletic shoes from Blue Ribbon Sports. In 1971, the company was on the brink of changing the name to Dimension Six. Luckily that didn’t happen. An employee convinced Phil Knight to go with the name of the Greek goddess of victory. Nike.
Sound of Music was founded 58 years ago by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler as an audio specialty store. In 1983 it rebranded, with an emphasis on consumer electronics. You know it today as Best Buy.
If you lived in Bridgeport, Connecticut in 1965, you might have met someone for lunch at Pete’s Super Submarines. It was renamed Subway in 1972 and franchised in 1974.
In 1946, a radio repair shop was founded under the name Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo. It was responsible for Japan’s first transistor radio in 1955, and the world’s first transistor television in 1960. Today, you know it as Sony Corporation.
Kentucky Fried Chicken became KFC.
The founder of Cadabra changed the name when a lawyer thought it was “cadaver.” You know it today as Amazon.
Snickers was once called Marathon and Starburst was Opal Fruits. Yahoo actually started out as Jerry and David’s Guide to the World Wide Web.
Don’t change your brand name just because. Think about it. Research. And if you are ready to make a move, and need help, call us. We’re HyattWard Advertising. Originally known as Adworks. 😊